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- The Las Vegas Raiders parted ways with head coach Jon Gruden in 2021
- Now, in 2022, they have reportedly hired Gruden’s replacement
- Read more NFL news here
The Las Vegas Raiders were forced to part ways with Jon Gruden midway through the 2021 season due to a chain of emails being released showing the head coach using racial and homophobic slurs. Veteran Rich Bisaccia took over in an interim role, helping lead the Raiders to wins in their final four regular season games. Las Vegas slipped into the NFL Playoffs with a dramatic overtime win against the Chargers before falling to the Bengals in the opening round.
With the season coming to a close, the head coaching search began. It didn’t take long for the Raiders to single in on their top candidate. NFL insider Adam Schefter posted on social media today stating that Las Vegas has found their guy in the form of a former division rival head coach.
Raiders are expected to hire former Patriots’ OC Josh McDaniels as their head coach, per sources. Two sides still are finalizing the contract, but McDaniels is their man.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 30, 2022
Josh McDaniels, who coached the Denver Broncos throughout the 2009 and 2010 seasons, will lead the Raiders in 2022. McDaniels went just 11-17 in those two seasons in Denver, but he’s best remembered for his time with the Patriots.
McDaniels has served two separate stints as offensive coordinator on Bill Belichick’s staff, winning six Super Bowl titles with the organization.
The coaching news has been received with mixed reaction among NFL fans. Some are excited to see the offensive mastermind take the reins in Las Vegas, as the Raiders do have young talent on that side of the ball. Most, however, think the hire is a mistake, pointing back to his subpar performance his last time leading an AFC West team.
Check out some of the negative commentary below.
I guess it’s time that I start to come to terms with Josh McDaniels as HC. pic.twitter.com/58WLdURjgo
— Kenny King Jr (@KennyKing_Jr) January 28, 2022
Flashback to then #Chiefs coach Todd Haley refusing to shake Josh McDaniels hand in 2010. He told him: “There’s a lot of shit being talked about you.”https://t.co/2P6OFlDhbM pic.twitter.com/u5F30j55n8
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 13, 2022
The Raiders continuing an AFC West tradition of hiring Josh McDaniels: pic.twitter.com/KBMWa2kTOK
— Josh Hill (@jdavhill) January 30, 2022
In my mind, Josh McDaniels delivered a 100 page PowerPoint with 99 pages on how he plans to use Hunter Renfrow
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) January 30, 2022
Players: We want Bisaccia.
Mark Davis: https://t.co/gzaWmkSAWy pic.twitter.com/LwtK47I9eP— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) January 30, 2022
Not sure why they would not give Bissacia another chance. The team played hard for him.
McDaniels IMO has a poor character. https://t.co/V0yaEsIxvh
— Jbro (@YoungDanielDad) January 30, 2022
The disrespect to the good man himself Rich Bisaccia https://t.co/OfyG1iEPOk
— George Boyer (@ChefBoyarde03) January 30, 2022
https://twitter.com/CarrBurner/status/1486892233110396928
Wow. Feels like the Raiders undershot with who’s left on the board. https://t.co/SZ50UHb94z
— John “Draft” Vogel (@DraftVogel) January 30, 2022
This why Harbaugh interviewed with the Vikings? Honestly, in the NFL, I’d rather have Harbaugh. https://t.co/YgzEHFe4Zm
— JR’s Rankings 🌰🅾️⭕️ (@jrs_rankings) January 30, 2022
Time will tell whether the move was the right one for the Raiders. He’ll certainly need to improve upon his 38% winning percentage as a head coach if he hopes to stay in Las Vegas.